Dystopia
by JasmineFern32
Summary: We all knew that The War of the Ember ended in a high note. But, what if it didn't? What if it ended up in an age to darkness...
1. chapter 1

**Prologue**

As Coryn was dropping the ember back into the volcano, a Pure One flew by and stabbed him in the back.

The poor king died without any of his allies knowing.

Meanwhile he was dying, the soldier who stabbed him brought the ember back to their leader and reported the news that Coryn was dead.

Their empress, Nyra was overjoyed when she heard the news that her son who betrayed her was dead ordered the soldier to announce the news to their enemy that if they could find someone to lead their troops to defeat hers, could own the ember. Thinking that they would not succeed.

After the message was announced, the Guardians made Soren lead their way to victory.

S

everal hours of fighting later, the hagsfiends were now in the battlefield.

Unfortunately, their new leader was killed by one of the haggish creatures.

Soren's mate Pellimore was then appointed as their new leader after being given a second chance by the Pure Ones.

Since the new queen's spouse had just been killed, she surrendered unconditionally due to the grief of losing her mate and not wanting more casualties.

Despite the opposition of the other Guardians, she stubbornly surrendered.

Then, she and the leaders of the enemy signed an unequal treaty, The Treaty of The Beyond.

The treaty stated that all of the Northern Kingdoms and Southern Kingdoms to unify as one kingdom and have the Pure Ones as their ruler. All kingdom would be provinces, Pellimore and a few others would become regional leaders and that laws would be reinforced later.

After the tragic lost of the Guardians, a page of darkness was written in history.


	2. Chapter 1: Victory Day

'Andrew, Athena, Antony, Aunt Pelli and the other guests has arrived!'

Andrew turned his head almost 180. Of course it was his mother Otulissa calling him, she was so talkative.

'Coming.' said Andrew as he flew to the main hollow.

'Hey Andrew, long time no see.' said a familiar voice behind him.

'Hi!' said Andrew, turning around. It was an old friend of his, Blythe.

'Andrew! Guess who I am.' said someone, of course it was Justin. He said that almost everytime they met each other.

'Justin! Who else would ask me such a dumb question!' said Andrew cheerfully.

Then, both of them laughed.

'Athena, Antony, remember me?' asked Bash.

'Bash! What are we, puffins? We aren't dumb!' said Athena. 'Anyways, It's nice to see you again.' she added.

'It's great to see you, although it is pretty awkward since you are one of the most superior species while we are one of the most inferior.' said Antony.

Not long after The Pure Ones took over, every owl in the age of one to two and a half have to go to school to brainwash the younger generation. Since he paid alot of attention in class to get good grades, he had some kind of inferior complex going on.

'You believe in this?!' said Bash. 'Your mother didn't teach you anything about how everybody is equal ever? Racdrops! Did I say that out loud?' she murmured in fear.

'Yes, you just did. Hope no spies are around.' sighed Athena.

'Hope not.' giggled Bash nervously. 'Hey Bell... Wait, have you guys seen her? She's been acting so weird lately.'

'Nope.' replied Athena.

After that, Bash walked up to Blythe. 'Have you seen Bell?' she asked.

'No, I haven't seen her since two minutes after we've been here. We should find her.' suggested Blythe.

'Yeah, I think we should get Athena and Antony to find her. I don't want to get lost.' said Bash.

'I could help with that.' said Andrew from behind.

'Great, let's go!' said Bash.

'Bell! Bell!' the three shouted while the flew into the library.

'Bell, why are you in our library?' asked Andrew.

'I was well... um... lost.' answered Bell sheepishly while dropping a book.

'Care to come with the rest of us?' said Andrew.

'Um... sure!' she replied.

'What is wrong with her? She is suddenly so strange. That's so not her.' he thought.

'Hey guys, where have you been?' asked Justin, looking a bit worried.

'Off to find b Bell, she was... lost.' said Blythe.

'Oh my gosh Andrew! You've grown so much since the last time we met!' exclaimed Gylfie who popped up in the middle of nowhere.

'Nice to meet you, aunt Gylfie.' greeted Andrew politely.

'Those roasted lemmings are very good! You guys should get some!' shouted Twilight and his two brothers.

'Seriously, did your dad made those?' asked Ruby happily.

'Those four are pretty crazy as always.' he thought. 'No, Antony cooked those.'

'Your brother is a really good cook then.' said Ruby.

'Yeah, he really is.' responded Andrew.

'The dance is going to start, I think that it's time to go.' said Otulissa loudly.

Everyone agreed.

Then, all the owls flew to The Square where the dance was held.

A few moments after they had arrived, The Square was filled with owls.

'Welcome to the dance, where we celebrate the victory of The Pure Ones and the unity of the continent.' said Cleve standimg pearching on a stick high above the ground that looked like the letter T giving his speech. But of course, Andrew and the most of the other owls there knew that he did not mean what he say.

As a regional leader, he had to show that he was completely loyal to The Pure Ones. Or else, he and his family would lose all political power and live a poor and oppressed life like all the other members of his species.

'As regional leader of Firthmore, I am happy to say: let the dance begin!'

He said jubilantly.

Then, everyone cheered joyfully. Not because they were happy with the result of the war, but because this was one of the few days that they could leave their region and celebrate with their loved ones.

Less than a minute later, The Square was filled with music sung by the state-run choir singing hymns of praise to The Pure Ones.

Owls flew around and danced to the music.

'Andrew, no one is dancing with you?' asked Bash who was pearching next to him.

'Yeah, just like what Athena said I'm just not a ladies' man.' he replied, giving her an awkward grin.

'I understand.' said Bash.

'Just curious, how did Bell get lost? Wasn't she following you and Blythe?' asked Andrew, trying to spark a conversation.

'She was pretty strange lately, there are some things that are kind of fishy about her. She got a free pass to leave her region anytime she wants. Me and Blythe think that she and The Prince have a thing for each other.' said Bash.

'Do you think that I should be careful around her?' asked Andrew, feeling a bit anxious.

'Me and Blythe are already being very careful, you ought to do so.' she replied.

'Well thanks for the advice.' he said.

'You're welcome. Wanna dance?' asked Bash.

'Sure.' said Andrew and both of them flew away and danced.

After everybody had a great time in the celebration, Andrew, his family and the guests returned to their home.

When dawn came, all the guests were allowed to stay for the day since the day they must return was the day after tomorrow.

Andrew was too hyped up to sleep so he flew to the hollow the Bs were staying at for a chat.

'Bell, looks like you're the only one awake.' said Andrew who saw that only Bell was awake writing something.

'Yes, I can't sleep.' she responded him, forcing a smile.

'Oh, you too cannot sleep. What are you writing?' asked Andrew out of curiosity.

'No... Nothing!' she blurted out. 'I'm feeling pretty sleepy now, good light.'

'Good light then.' said Andrew.

Then, he returned to his hollow, expecting a sleepless day.

'Good evening everyone, did you sleep well?' asked Blythe.

'No, it's difficult to sleep after having so much fun.' yawned Andrew.

'I understand, you and Bash looked very happy last night.' she giggled.

'Yeah, it was great.' he smiled.

'Food is ready.' said Athena joining them.

'That's awesome, let's go and eat!' cooed Blythe.

They all went to eat, and the hollow was soon filled with chatter and laughter.

After they were all full, the guests left one by one unwillingly.


	3. Chapter 2: Arrested!

It has been a couple of weeks since Victory Day, everything was back to normal. Young owls were going to school and nobody can go anywhere beyond the borders of their own region.

Andrew and his family were no exception, his father was writing documents and mum was helping him out and the triplets just went back from hunting.

'You five are under arrested!' boomed a big hagsfiend into the hollow. Two masked owl followed the big crow-like creature.

'Sir, there must be some misunderstanding here.' said Antony politely who did not know what was going on.

'A misunderstanding? Don't play dumb, lad. Bell daughter of Pellimore precisely told us that the regional leader and his family are guilty for owning blasphemous books!' he stared down at Antony. 'Rose! John! Search their library!' he commanded the owls beside him.

'Yes commander.' said the masked owls as they made their way into the library.

A few moments later, the masked owls went back with two piles of books.

'Commander, these are all the blasphemous books we can find.' said the female, almost falling down because of the weight of the books.

'Very well, Bell has is always so trustworthy.' said the hagsfiend.

'Yes, indeed.' replied both of them.

'Bash was right about Bell, I always knew there's something about her!' thought Andrew.

'Since this crime is an extremely serious, we would usually punish spots like you to labour camp for two years. But given that you lowlifes are regional leaders, we have decided to put you guys into camp for just six months and lose all of your political power.' he said.

'How dare you, you little spr...' screeched Otulissa as tears ran down her face.

'Darling, don't cry. We're all facing this.' said her mate trying to comfort her.

But it was no use, she continued crying.

Their lives would never be the same.


	4. Chapter 3: The Rebels

Chapter 3: The Rebels

The family was tied up with ropes as they were being tossed into a cage. Above the cage were four great greys used to fly the cage to the camp.

Three days later, they had arrived to that cursed place. The camp was located in St. Aggies so that place was a deep and had a depressing landscape.

The family was immediately pushed by two big owls to a hall-like area.

There were already owls there, filling almost all of the area. Most of them looked depressed and some even angry. They managed to find a small area where they can stand together.

Around half an hour passed, a barn owl flew onto the rock in the centre of the hall. Two hagsfiends stood by his sides.

'Hello, new inmates.' he said, staring down at the owls in the hall.

The hall which was full of anxious chatting fell into utter silence.

'I am the regional leader of St. Aggies. You all may call me Sir. Oliver the second.' he paused for a while and continued his speech 'Enough with the introduction, let's get to the rules: First of all, you inmates should listen to every command of mine or else we have every right to assign any kind of punishment to you. Secondly, if not assigned to other regions or have special permission all inmates should go back to their 'dorms' by sunrise and start working at noon...'

The speech went on and on about the little rules, Antony was listening closely to every single detail while Athena is extremely bored.

A couple of nights had passed, it was time to eat. Andrew's parents and Antony were sent to Kuneer to do some hard labour and would be back three days later.

He and his sister Athena sat on a random table with a few seats to spare and started eating the two crickets they each got.

Other than the two of them, the table sat a middle-aged boreal owl and six others. An old burrowing owl who sat next to Andrew noticed them and told the others in the group.

'Hello, young ones.' said a female boreal owl. 'Wait, you two look oddly familiar.'

'Really? I... I did not remember meeting you.' replied Andrew in shock.

'You two look like my friend when she was younger.' she said.

A male short-eared owl turned to the siblings. 'They look like a friend of mine and his mate, her name is... O... Otu what?' he remarked.

'Otulissa?!' asked Athena.

'Yes, it's she.' he said.

'She is our mother.' said Andrew.

The table fell into grave silence, everyone turned their heads and stared at Andrew and Athena.

'Two of you are their children?!' everyone except for the middle-aged boreal owl exclaimed.

'Yeah, how in the world did you all know our parents?' asked Athena doubtfully.

'Long story. By the way, my name is Bess.' the female boreal owl said.

'Bess, The Knower?!' the siblings exclaimed.

Bess nodded.

'Besides, how did you two get here?' a young owl asked.

'Well, we went here for having illegal books in our library.' sighed Andrew.

'Not to mention that Bell blew our damn cover!' said Athena angrily.

'Bell did this?!' said Bess in disbelief.

'Unfortunately yes.' said Andrew.

'Besides, how did all of you get here?' asked Athena out of curiosity.

'We are actually a rebel group know as Warriors of Equality or WE for short.' said the middle-aged boreal owl 'I am Paro, the founder of the group. We were caught for being rebels.' said Paro.

'Are all of you part of the rebellion?' asked Andrew.

'Yes, but a few of us are still out there, spreading the word.' answered Paro.

'Haven't heard of you guys before, how big is your group?' asked Athena.

'There are around 150 members at the moment. Quite a small group.' he replied.

'I see.' responded Athena.

'You two seem interested, want to join us? But the risk is very high, you might be tortured of killed by them. Tell me if you two have decided.' said Paro softly.

'We'll be sure to tell you when we have decided.' said Andrew.

After that, the two went back to their 'dorm'.


	5. Chapter 4: Fake Love

Chapter 4: Fake Love

It has been a couple of weeks since Bell went back to the Great Tree.

'I can't believe that Bell did this!' she heard Justin, the son of Martin said.

'I know right! That demon!' another owl exclaimed.

'As her sister, I am not too suprised.' sighed her own sister Bash.

'Yeah, I reported them to gain trust. So what? Desperate times takes desperate measures, what am I supposed to do when there is little to no chance you are going to get into power?' thought Bell.

The three owls continued trash talking about her while Bell pretended to read her book when she was hearing every word they said, remaining unnoticed.

The sky was getting brighter and brighter, owls in the Great Tree were gradually getting back into their respective hollows.

But Bell was an exception. For some reason, she could not sleep. So instead of going back into her family hollow, she pearched on the swing in the Hanging Garden.

'Shame that the very owl that personalized this every place is suffering.' she thought as the tip of her port wing touched the orchid that Otulissa used to care for, a smirk then appeared on her face.

Boom! A crashing noise came from where her back was facing. 'What a killjoy!' Bell thought.

As soon as Bell turned her head, she was glad that she did not say what she was thinking just now. It was The Prince, Crimson.

'Hello, Sweetie pie... Ow!' he said.

He was as clumsy as ever, but it was to be expected for a creature that is half hagsfiend, quarter tyto alba and quarter snowy owl.

'Love, are you alright?' asked Bell, faking an empathetic voice.

'Yes, as long as you are here.' he said.

Suddenly, he stood up looking like shy and awkward.

'Bell, look at me in the eye.' said Crimson seriously.

Bell stared into his orange eyes.

'I... I have been in love with you ever since I saw you. Then, I count out that you support us. I became more and more fond of you.' he said sincerely.

Bell did not turn away dispite really wanting to.

'Wi... Will you co... court with m... me?' he asked in a shaking voice.

'Yes, I will. I will love you until the end of time.' Bell lied. She could swear to Glaux that she had never liked him.

Then, the two hugged.

A. N. : Sorry for not updating for so long, I was busy with my schoolwork and dealing with a personal problem. Well, my bf (from the internet) of a season dumped my a$$... it felt terrible but I got over it (mostly).


	6. Chapter 5: News From Kuneer

Chapter 5: News From Kuneer

'Hey, Andrew. We are back.' a weary voice said behind Andrew.

It was dawn, Andrew and Athena were in their 'dorms' which were more like tiny cells.

Andrew turned his head, it was Antony. He sounded so tired that Andrew could barely recognise his voice.

'How did it go?' asked Andrew.

'Terrible.' he replied. 'But I have news.'

'What kind of news?' Athena poked out her head.

'Well, there are rebellions out there.' he murmured. 'They are very small and nobody is certain on how many there are.'

'Stop muttering you spots!' said a large female grass owl walking by, glaring at the triplets. Then, she continued to hum a ditty.

'So sorry!' Antony apologized.

They waited for the grass owl to walk away.

'There are more?!' Athena gasped. 'Well, we met a bunch of rebels here called Warriors of Equality and they have 150 members in total. They actually invited me and Andrew to join them.'

'As crazy as it sounds, it is true. During our stay in Kuneer, we met a rebel who is part of SOS. It became a rebel group fairly recently, their leader was said to be the sister of aunt Gylfie.' said Antony.

'I wonder why they become rebels.' thought Athena out loud.

'I assume that they don't like to be treated as lesser beings? Just guessing.' said Andrew.

'Perhaps you are right.' said Antony.

'I am tired. Good light.' yawned Antony as he went to sleep.

'Good light!' the other two siblings replied and slept.

Noon arrived. The sun was shining brightly through the gaps of the dull cayons, all the inmates were going out of their 'dorms' unwillingly.

Andrew and his sister had enough rest but Antony and their parents were still very tired.

On that day, the family was assigned to push carts.

The place that they were assinged to were filled with groans, cries and the sounds of whipping.

'Everyone! Sir. Oliver ordered all inmates to go to the Central Hall immediately!' a hagsfiend shouted.

All the owl in the cart-pulling place walked out of the area one by one quickly.

The hall was once again filled with inmates. But this time, the hall was in dead silence.

Sir. Oliver said with clarity ' This miserable owl up here has committed a grave mistake.'

Andrew twitched his head to look at the poor owl who was helplessly lying next to Sir. Oliver, that owl was tied up tightly, he was twisting and turning like a worm.

'Wait, he looked familiar!' thought Andrew. 'Was he the burrowing owl that was sitting with the rebels during their meals? Hope not.'

Then, Sir. Oliver clutched the rope that was tying him and dropped him from the rock he was standing on.

The burrowing owl was free falling to the ground as he letted out a cry of fear and helplessness.

As if the fall wasn't damaging to his body enough, one of his talons pierced through a spike on the ground.

The poor owl soon lost consciousness and the inmates gasped in terror.

Shortly thereafter, Sir. Oliver flew out of the hall.

It was half an hour before everyone had to go back to their respective 'dorms' and all the work for the day was done, therefore Andrew, his brother and father decided to go for a short walk.

The three passed through the only infirmary in all of St. Aggies which was unstaffed at the time.

Instead, Bess, Paro and the male short eared owl that Andrew saw with WE the other day were there.

'Hi Carl! Long time no see!' said Cleve when he saw his old friend.

'Good Lord! I haven't seen you since we fought in the war!' exclaimed Carl.

'So, the short eared is called Carl.' thought Andrew.

'Why are the three of you here?' asked Andrew.

'You see, Larry was punished for communicating with other members of WE that did not get caught along with a few other rebel organisations such as SOS and a few others.' answered Paro, pointing to the burrowing owl.

'Does that mean that the governors now know more about the rebels now?' asked Andrew.

'Unfortunately, this is highly possible.' sighed Paro.

Cleve volunteered to stay and take care of Larry, and the brothers flew back to their respective 'dorms' after saying goodbye.


	7. Chapter 6: Future Mate

Chapter 6: Future Mate

'Who is this?' Bell groaned as she heard a knock on her hollow.

It was First Lavender, and she was still sleeping... until she was interrupted by the knock.

She walked up to the entrance and saw a sooty owl handing her a letter that said 'To my dearest Bell' at the back. After that, the sooty owl left.

'Typical.' she thought as she opened it.

 _Dear Bell,_ _Since we have officially courted, The Emperor and Empress had been requesting to see you._ _I think that this is about time you and my parents meet, I promise it is going to be a great night._ _Please come to The Palace of Purity in The Forest Region of Tyto nine nights later._ _Always yours,_ _Crimson._ _Crimson_

She closed the letter and threw it to the corner of the hollow.

Bell tied her 'free pass' on her neck and flew out of her hollow for tweener.

After she arrived to the dining hollow, her family members did not dare to talk to her as usual. But today, her sisters and Mrs. P were looking at her 'free pass'.

Bell noticed the stares and took the food before flying out of the hollow.

It took her a week to fly near the borders of Ambala and Tyto.

The sun was about to rise when she heard cheers and other noises from the abandoned hollow that she stayed in, so she flew out of her hollow to investigate.

As she flew closer to the source of the noise, she found herself in a place surrounded by a few tall trees with long branches covered to the brim with leaves.

There were alot of owls, perhaps a few hundred? But Bell observed one thing: they all have heart shaped faces just like her own.

Some of them were pearching on the long and strong branches of the trees, some were sitting inside the hollows meanwhile most of the owls were cramming on the ground.

Bell could easily blend in with the large number of tytos, so she picked a spot in the centre of the crowd.

Less than a minute later, two owls spiraled down from a high branch. Another owl from high above yelled to the crowd 'Make way! Make way!'

The ones in the centre of the crowd took big steps backwards, Bell picked up on that and followed.

A circle with a three metre radius was soon made in the centre of the crowd.

The cheers resumed.

'Silence!' the elderly male owl in the circle shouted.

'Welcome to this meeting, my comrades.' the old male paused 'We, True Purity are having another meeting this early on in the night is because since the execution of WE member Larry for communicating with other rebel groups...'

The crowd cheered jubilantly.

As the cheers were dying out, he continued to deliver his speech 'Security has been much more prone to cracking down rebels.'

The crowd shouted 'Down with the fiends!' for ten times.

The handsome young male in the circle began to speak 'And you all aren't here for nothing.'

As he began to talk, Bell couldn't help but pay attention to his confidence shown when he makes wing gestures as he speaks and passion in his pebble like dark eyes.

'That emperor and empress of ours claimed that they were all for tytos, the purest species in existence. But look at what they are! Their policies show their fiendish instincts. Look at their newest policy! Five percent of their advanced education places for tytos were given to those vile hagsfiends, this is beyond unacceptable!' he said.

During the speech, she couldn't keep her eyes off him. As he walked around, he gave Bell a wink. She felt her gizzard squeeze.

The meeting was soon over, the owls were dismissed. Before Bell could follow the others, the handsome owl wrapped his wings around her.

'Let me go!' she screamed. Her lustful thoughts had turned into thoughts of fear and rage.

Bell was twitching and biting his wing, but it was useless. He started preening her gently. After that, he said 'I mean you no harm, come with me.'

He letted her free and flew up. Bell hesitated for a while and followed.

They flew up to a hollow high above.

'Do you want some tea, Bell?' he asked.

'Sure.' she answered.

'Hey, make some tea!' he yelled at the nest maid snake behind him.

'Wait, you know me?' Bell blinked.

'Yeah! Remember me?' he cocked his head.

'Oh! He's the owl who danced with her in that long night which I travelled to Tyto. What's his name? Bill? Boil? Oh yes, Beau.' thought Bell.

'Ah, the pellet drops.' she replied.

'So, how is your... relationship with Crimmy?' he asked.

Calling The Prince by his name was already considered blasphemous, but giving him a nickname is just an extremely risky move. Bell's gizzard was all over the place, this was oddly... attractive?

'It's... fine.' she lied. If being not even remotely interested in him is considered fine, then she was honest.

'I see.' he said. Tea was ready, he handed her a cup.

'Thank you, Beau.' she said politely while blinking her eyes charmingly.

'You're welcome.' he replied.

She looked at the moon outside, it was almost midnight. 'It had been fabulous spending time with you, but I have to go or I will be late.' she said sadly.

'Well, goodbye, gorgeous. May we meet again.' Beau said.

'Bye.' said Bell and began to fly.

She turned her head and saw Beau wink at her, she nearly swooned midair.

She managed to arrive at the palace on time, Crimson was waiting for her at the gates.

The palace was a grand church long long ago and was built by Others. But now, it became a palace after some rearrangements.

'My dear! You have finally arrived!' Crimson said cheerfully as Bell stood before him.

'I miss you so much!' Bell lied and hugged him.

Tears of joy streamed down Crimson's face.

'Let's go inside! I can't wait to see my future father and mother in law!' Bell said.

So, the couple went inside. As they had arrived the throne room, Nyra and the Striga were already pearching on their respective thrones.

'I am honored to meet you, your majesty and empress.' she greeted in a courteous manner.

This seemed to please the rulers.

'We are very glad to meet you... again, Bell. You must be very hungry after a long flight. Crimson, please show her the way to the dining chamber.' said the Striga.

'Yes, father.' agreed Crimson. 'Please follow me.' he turned to Bell.

Bell followed him into the dining chamber.

She was immediately greeted by a large variety of food, ranging from lemmings to bats...

'Good Glaux!' she exclaimed.

'I don't break promises, my dear.' he said.

She waited for the monarchs to pearch before pearching.

They chatted and laughed during the feast, even Nyra had loosened up a bit.

'Striga, you look quite ill. I think think that you should take a rest in our sleeping chamber.' Nyra suggested. After he left, Nyra's face expression changed drastically. She turned to her son and said 'Go back to your own sleeping chamber now!' as if it was a command.

'Okay... mother.' he said and left.

'Racdrops! She must be up to no good.' thought Bell.

'Bell.' said Nyra.

'Yes?' Bell replied uncertainty.

'You have never loved my son, right?' asked the empress.

'Of...of course not! What are you talking about?' lied Bell.

'You think that you can fool me?' said Nyra, raising her voice.

'No!' answered Bell in fear.

'Bell, I can tell that you disliked him since day one.' she said bluntly.

Bell realised that there is no point in lying to her, so she told the truth 'Yes, you are right.'

'Honestly, I have never blamed you. I actually relate to you alot.' she said, sounding kinder.

'I am sorry, I do not understand.' Bell said.

'Back in the day, I was the mate of the old High Tyto. He was old and scrawny, the young and beautiful me did not like him for one bit. Well, I actually loved your uncle Kludd. But he died. Before the war, I had to form an alliance with the Striga to avoid future conflicts. So I don't blame you.' she said in an oddly gentle fashion.

Nyra went over to embrace Bell before they said goodbye.


	8. Chapter 7: New Relations

Chapter 7: New Relations

AN: I finally have time to write! So, someone asked me since the previous chapter is about Bell falling for Beau, if that means that I found someone new. Just in case anyone else was wondering about this... no, I don't. I am still as single as a pringle, it is next to impossible for me to get a boyfriend now since I am not particularly desirable. Besides, I am way more careful now in terms of choosing my special someone. My previous relationship was quite one sided, which I putted in more effort than he did in terms of communication. This is quite important since we are from different places, with me from Hong Kong and him from Moscow. Well, sorry for the ranting and let's get into the story.

'Hey!' Athena shouted after someone took her meat from her.

'Shut up, I did the most work in weapon producing tonight.' he said after he swallowed all of her meal.

'Chad, I did most of your work!' she shot back.

'Evidence?' asked Chad loudly. 'Who did the most work?' the barn owl shouted to the table next to him.

'You!' they said in unison.

'See?' Chad teased.

Athena gave him an angry stare and pushed him away with her wing.

'What do you think you are doing to my daughter?' growled a voice from behind.

Chad and Athena turned around.

A light brown figure swooped through the air and her talon scratched the surface of Chad's chest.

'Ow! Argh!' he screamed.

'Thanks mum.' She said.

'No problem, it was barely a stratch. I have never heard of a faker cry than that.' she replied before one of her feathers shedded. 'Not sure if it is going to grow back.' she sighed.

It had almost been half a year in the camp, what used to be browns and ambers of Otulissa's feathers became light brown.

Athena sighed as well, she used to be chubby and fluffy. But now, she looked like a twig with withered leafs.

Later in the night, a sooty owl led the siblings out from the weapon making room to somewhere else.

The place they were led to looked like a steep basin. In less than a minute, Sir. Oliver himself spiraled down into the centre of the basin.

'Everyone, listen closely.' said Sir. Oliver.

Everyone in there turned their heads to him. 'The Prince decided to announce that he will have a new mate, so he wanted to let everyone in the empire know. He will be throwing a party a fortnight later, all of you were invited to help.' said Sir. Oliver.

'Yeah right, invite.' thought Athena 'It's not like we were forced to do it...'

'All of you must do your best and we will send all of you there at sunset tomorrow.' he said.

The sunset of the next day soon came. As the sun was crawling down, Andrew and his siblings were directed by an owl to a large cage with ten eagle owls on top of it.

The trio were shoved to a corner. As other inmates were cramming in, Andrew's talons and beak were scratched by the rust of the iron bars, making his talons even more chipped than they already were.

It took a day to arrive at the place. After the cage landed, the front gate was opened by one of the eagle owls.

Before the gate was fully opened, owls began rushing out. When all of them were finally out of the cage, the three of them began to gasp for air.

Antony looked down at his talons and noticed that there was blood and a bit of down attatched to it. But he did not feel any pain, he turned his head and saw that a small owl was stomped, with it's intestines still hanging out.

'My word!' he exclaimed in terror.

'Oh goodness!' Andrew and Athena exclaimed in unison.

Soon, the cage was being taken away along with the stomped owl.

As the moon began to rise, a hagsfiend divided the owls into different factions to preform different tasks.

The three of them were all responsible for decoration, and so was Bess.

As soon as they were in their place, Antony noticed that the grass owl that he had a crush on was in the same faction.

'Too bad that I now look like some nobody... she will never notice me.' sighed Antony as he stared at his reflection on the puddle of water, his spots which looked like the stars in a clear summer night just a few months ago looked like snowballs tainted by mud, meanwhile his originally big and muscular build became scrawny.

Andrew putted his wings on the shoulders of his siblings and said 'Welcome to the lonely club, right Athena?' he smirked and began to churr hysterically.

Athena shoved Andrew away and said 'Andrew! I am not joining you little club, not in a million years!'

'Come on, sister... when was the last time someone was interested in you?' teased Andrew.

'Uh a year and a half?' she said.

'Yeah, that's right. Join us now.' said Andrew with an unsettling friendly tone to his voice.

'What?! They are using bells of all things for decoration?' gasped Bess 'I thought that they are setting up for a happy event, not singing someone to glaumora.'

The triplings couldn't help but laugh a bit.

As they were hanging up the decorations, a soft voice was crying for help. 'Ah! I'm stuck!' the voice cried.

Antony quickly located where the voice came from and flew to the direction.

When he saw the owner of the soft voice, she was tangled with the line of ornaments, some were even on her neck.

He managed to get some of it off her. 'A little help here!' he yelled.

Andrew quickly flew there to help as another owl came as well.

'Stand back!' she shouted on the top of her lungs and quickly untied her.

'Thank you, Caroline.' she said as she was getting the rest of the string off her.

'No problem, Ria.' replied Caroline.

'And thank you... Antony?' Ria said in suprise.

'How do you know me?' asked Antony.

'Come on, you have been invited in quite a few social events. Along with Andrew, the one standing next to you and wait... where is Athena?' said Caroline confidently.

'I'm here!' yelled Athena.

'Wait a second, how did you recognize us?' asked Andrew. 'We look so different now.'

'Well, it's not that different, and still as charming.' she cooed.

'Well, thanks Caroline.' said Andrew shyly.

'Oh, have we not properly introduced ourselves yet? My name is Caroline and this is my cousin Ria. We came from Ambala.' said Caroline politely.

'Hey, Athena! Come here!' shouted Andrew.

Soon, she was with her brothers.

'I am Andrew, this is my younger sister Athena and this is my younger brother Antony.' said Andrew.

'Hey! Get back to work!' scolded a barn owl as she tossed a piece of hot metal without warning at them.

They flew as far as they could from the metal but Andrew and Athena were burnt on their legs.

'Good Glaux! Ah!' they exclaimed in pain as the scent of smoked feathers fill the air.

Soon, the two of them crash landed on the ground.

'You two stay here.' said Ria calmly. 'Caroline, you stay here and look after them while me and Antony go and fetch some water and leaves.'

'Okay.' agreed Caroline.

Ria and Antony took two of the buckets that were on the side and headed off to a small lake.

'Why are you doing this?' asked Antony.

'To heal them.' she answered simply. 'Oh look! The lake is over there!'

They headed off to the lake and Ria took some water with her bucket.

'Pick some bigger leafs off that tree and rinse them with water.' instructed Ria.

Antony picked a few leafs along with a purple flower.

'I have something for you.' said Antony and placed the flower on her head carefully. 'Here, it fits you perfectly.'

'Thank you.' she said shyly and churred a little bit. 'Have you washed the leafs?'

He quickly rinsed them briefly 'All done.'

'Good.' she said and they flew back to the others.

Ria was taking care of their wounds when Bess came.

'What happened?' asked Bess.

'Some maniac decided to throw hot metal at us, when you thought things wouldn't get any worse...' sighed Athena.

'Well, in all this time being a rebel, I learnt that facing these things makes you stronger and wiser. You are going to make it.' said Bess.

Athena was quite suprised, she knew that Bess was an optimistic owl but she never knew that she would say something so... inspirational.


	9. Chapter 8: Release

'You five are allowed an early release to attend The Prince's union party.' said a grass owl.

'We are invited?!' gasped Athena.

As soon as the grass owl walked away, the triplets started exchanging werid looks.

'Something's fishy.' Athena finally said.

'You took those words out of my mouth.' agreed Andrew.

'Like, why in the world would they invite us who no longer have any political power there?' she added.

'Not to mention that we are considered to be one of the worst species.' Antony chimed in.

Otulissa who was behind them letted out a loud sigh.

Athena turned to her weary mother and asked 'What's wrong?'

'Oh, nothing... nothing at all.' said her mother.

'Okay...' she said.

The faithful day had come, the family of five were going to The Prince's union party.

When they arrived, the place was grand. There were decorations everywhere they turned, bells were hung on thin strings, garlands were hung on trees and putted on tables.

There were owls and nestmaid snakes serving the guests, it was grand.

Suddenly, a barn owl who seemingly popped out of nowhere asked 'May I have a word with you?'

Otulissa simply nodded. Then, both of them were out of sight.

'Andrew, is that you?' asked a voice.

He turned around, it was Blythe.

'I thought that you are in camp.' she said in disbelief.

'They released us early to attend.' replied Andrew.

'Werid.' she commented.

'Guests, please gather around for the union party.' a grass owl announced from above.

So, all of the guests crammed around a rock.

Above everything, the Emperor and Empress pearched on a high branch. Watching everything.

Andrew managed to squeeze between Athena and Antony.

As the crowd cheered, Crimson flew onto the rock rather clumsily, but it was better than crash landing.

He was adorned with a crown of gold, and was holding a silver one on his beak.

Less than a minute had passed when the parliament of owls splitted into two halves.

Between the gap, the Prince's future mate walked gracefully as wind ruffled her feathers ever so slightly and light shimmered in her deep dark eyes like black diamonds.

She wore a cloak the colour of pearls, it trailed behind her, it was at least a dozen meters long. As if a waterfall was falling down from her shoulders delicately.

Her elder sisters couldn't help but envy her beauty and grace. She looked more regal than she had ever been. But at the same time... she was more distant, they might as well be galaxies apart.

Meanwhile, the male barn owls envied the wonky prince that was pearching on the rock for having such a beauty by his side. But Beau definitely took the cake for being the most jealous. This undeserving fiend had such great power handed to him when he arrived to this world, and now, he had the embodiment of purity and beauty as his princess.

But Athena's thoughts stuck out like a sore talon, she thought that all of this was laughably over the top.

As the maiden in the white cloak stood before the Prince of the Empire, he gently removed the part that covered her head with his raven wings, contrasting the snow white cloak.

Then, he placed the crown of silver onto her head lovingly.

After Bell was crowned, a barn owl with a white garland on her head flew onto the rock and wrapped a delicate white scarf around the couple.

As the crowd cheered, the crowns on their heads glittered like stars in a clear night sky under the pale moonlight.

After the roars of cheers died out, the owl with a white garland announced 'May Glaux bless the couple with eternal happiness and power.'

The cheers were back.

'The celebrations start now!'

The cheers were even louder.

Most of the guests went to the tables for refreshments including Andrew and his siblings.

'I am so hungry!' said Andrew as he took a big bite of bat wing.

'So am I!' groaned Athena with her beak full.

'This is divine!' said Antony, also with his beak full. It had been ages since thay had any good food.

Antony swallowed the food and said 'Who would have thought that we would be invited?'

'This is nothing special, so excessive. The only good thing about this is the food.' said Athena.

Andrew chuckled 'But isn't the cloak lovely? Or the glistening crowns? You're a female after all.'

'Sparkly stuff isn't my forte. To be honest, I think that they were rather unnatural.'

'Like mother like daughter.' smiled Antony.

'Speaking of mother, have you guys seen her?' asked Andrew.

'I haven't seen her since that owl talked to mum.' said his brother.

Then, the sound of music spreaded through the area.

Owls started gathering, in the centre of them all, Crimson and Bell were dancing. Staring into each other's eyes.

After the music had a short pause, the other owls started to dance to the elegant ballad.

Andrew had chosen to dance with his sister and Antony danced with Blythe.

'You're terrible at this.' muttered Andrew.

'Shut up, Andrew. You ain't that good yourself.' she shot back.

Her eyes moved around, trying to find their mother. Normally, she would be dancing swiftly across the dance floor. But she was nowhere to be found.

'Ow! You stepped on my talon again!' complained Andrew.

'Don't be so whiny. Our mum has gone missing.'

'You mean you couldn't spot her?'

She nodded.

As the music came to a halt, the dancers switched partners.

Andrew danced with Bash and Athena was partners with a stranger.

'Is your mum seriously missing out on her favorite part of a party?' asked Bash, it was like she had read his mind.

'Werid, isn't it?' he sighed. 'Athena couldn't see her either.'

As they were dancing, he noticed that Bash's eyes wandered somewhere else.

'What are you looking at?' he cocked his head.

She did not answer his simple question. He looked at the direction she was staring at for so long. It was a handsome barn owl, who was dancing with Bell alarmingly intimately.

'Who is this hot guy who is so close to her?' she thought out loud.

'Good question.' he replied, he was practically asking for trouble.

As they spinned across the floor, he saw Athena standing alone under a tree, her previous partner was probably screaming in agony after his talons were being stepped on for dozens of times.

The music came to a sudden end as the female with a white garland cleared her throat.

'We are going to have a really special event tonight. There was an owl who after sent to camp, didn't learn from her mistakes. She attacked a fellow inmate for no good reason. For her misconduct, we have no choice but burn her alive. For the royal family wish that everyone could learn from her mistakes.' she said, as if it was another performance.

The gossiping voices filled the air.

Two owls piled embers and coal below a stick shaped like a lower case T. As a familiar looking spotted owl was tied on the stick.

It was their mother, Otulissa.

The triplets and their father gasped in terror.

'No way.' Pelli, Blythe and Bash exclaimed.

It finally made sense to the triplets, her recently melancholic expressions, all her sighs, why they were invited, why she was nowhere to be found during the ceremony...

The crowd booed and cursed at the mate of the ex leaded of Firthmore, that undeserving spot, that unlawful citizen.

Otulissa's face was pale with hopelessness. After all she had done, she still couldn't prevent the world as she knew it crumnle in front of her very eyes. Her retribution for her mentor unfulfilled, knowledge that she held so dear to her became forbidden... was her life meaningless? But one thing was certain, it was a tragedy.

The two owls lit the pile on fire. Just before the fire could lick her talons, she shedded a tear. The embers sizzled as the drop reached it. But the flames were as brutal as before.

'Otulissa! No!' screeched her mate as he tried to fly to her aid.

When he was halfway there, two masked owls ceased him. He bursted out into tears helplessly as his love was suffering.

The triplets tried the same thing but was stopped by five strong guards.

'Mother!' yelled Athena as she started sobbing uncontrollably.

'Please, spare her!' shouted Andrew. But his voice was not heard, his sight became blurry.

'This couldn't be real!' roared Antony, but it was all too real. As teardrops started running down his face, he covered it with his wings.

Flames of red and yellow danced upon the dying owl, thick smoke started clogging up the air, so was the smell of burnt flesh and feathers.

The crowd started cheering, and some even started throwing stones and other things at her.

Andrew flew closer to the fire, his siblings followed suit.

He spreaded his wings, attempting to make the things that owls throw miss her, Athena and Antony did the same.

Soon, Pelli, Blythe and Bash joined them.

Minutes later, Otulissa smiled and took one last breath before perishing. At least, her psyche was released from this world.

The cheers grew even louder, and owls stopped throwing things.

The dreadful smoke started to leave.

The six of them tucked their wings by their sides, their chests all riddled with scars.

Athena took one last glance at the burnt remains of her mother and so did the other five.

Soon, two guards lead Cleve to the centre of the crowd.

'Your Majesty, this owl was trying to rescue her.' said one of them.

'You must punish him!' said the other guard.

Nyra thought for a while and commanded 'If so, give him eighty whips after he had returned to Firthmore.'

He sighed, at least he died trying if he couldn't survive the whips.

A.N.: Well that was hard killing my favorite character...


End file.
